Report: Tyronn Lue returning to Cavaliers bench Thursday night

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue will make his return to the bench Thursday night for a showdown with the Washington Wizards at Quicken Loans Arena, two team sources told Cleveland.com.

Lue has been out since March 17 due to health issues. The Cavaliers have gone 9-1 in his absence under the guidance of associate head coach Larry Drew.

Lue rejoined the team last week “as an observer” for a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. The plan was to allow Lue to “ease his way back into coaching over Cavs’ four-game homestand,” per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

A statement released by the Cavaliers upon Lue’s leave of absence noted the coach was suffering from “chest pains and other troubling symptoms, compounded by a loss of sleep.”

Drew earlier this week noted that Cavaliers players are eager to see the return of their coach.

“I can see that the guys have already embraced him,” Drew said Tuesdsay, via Cleveland.com. “So it’s just a matter of him being more hands on now once he does get back. I personally, just from what I’ve seen, it looks like everybody has rolled their sleeves up and just waiting for the day he comes back so they can get to work.”

The Cavaliers expected to get Lue back in time for the playoffs. With his return, that expectation has come to fruition. Cleveland (48-30) currently occupies the third seed in the Eastern Conference.